In the summer of 2016, a new European stage race was born, and this year the team at MarathonMTB.com couldn’t be more excited. Not since the Swiss Epic launched in 2014 has Europe hosted a new stage race with all the trimmings and all the ingredients for a truly epic experience: a journey through hidden […]
Crash course: Imogen Smith on her season-ending accident
Seven weeks ago, I had a big crash in a women’s criterium that ended my racing season before it really began. Early in the final 200m sprint, where I was sitting in the top 10 (I thought I’d be safe there), there was a surge from behind and riders moved sideways. It took the girl […]
Henderson and Ivory conquer Armidale
Armidale, halfway between Sydney and Brisbane in the northern tablelands of NSW, hosts this weekend’s Australian XCO National Series double header (rounds three and four). Double-headers are appearing more and more frequently on the XCO calendar in Australia, a welcome strategy for keeping costs down as riders travel immense distances to race in our largely empty […]
What makes a great Marathon MTB race?
Between us, the Subaru-MarathonMTB.com Team have raced hundreds of events from Mongolia to New Zealand, South Africa to Scotland, Poland to the USA, and from the freezing The Ice Man Cometh on fat bikes to the baking heat of Australia’s Crocodile Trophy… So what makes a good marathon MTB race? What should you look for […]
Last-minute Christmas gifts for mountain bikers
Christmas is just a few days away, and for the busy gift-buyer with a mountain-biking-significant-other it’s getting a bit late to order a pair of shoes or helmet, or shop around for kit in just the right sizes… Never fear! MarathonMTB.com is at the rescue with a bunch of fabulous biker gifts that you can […]
What’s under our tree for the Subaru MarathonMTB.com Team
Christmas is drawing close and the MarathonMTB team are in full festive swing. We’re a close group of bike riders, including a husband and wife pair, so we thought we’d give you an insight into the gifts we’ll be giving and receiving this Christmas and beyond. We chatted to each of our team riders and […]
Five ways to survive a marathon MTB event
Most mountain bikers will participate in a marathon event, or at the very least a challenging marathon ride, at least once. Marathons usually take four or more hours to complete, and the physical test of pushing the body for that long is surpassed only by the mental challenge of staying focused, positive, and coping with […]
Upskilling – skills courses for mountain biking
Apart from a few tears of joy, mountain bike racing only made me cry once this year. After our Australian XCM National Champs in Tasmania in April. I’d worked incredibly hard on my fitness for Nationals and thought the course, with a very long climb to be covered twice, would suit me perfectly. On race […]
The 2017 Scott Scale – why the hardtail still lives
In 2017 the Scale, Scott’s impressive range of lightweight hardtails, will again be available in both 27.5 and 29” wheel sizes. While the upper-mid end of the range, the 930/730 and the 935/735 carbon models will have plenty of interest for serious marathon and XCO racers, it’s the newer models at the top of […]
The Swiss Epic as a ready-made holiday
Imogen Smith explores the Swiss Epic and finds the mountain bike stage race and package holiday together at last. Stage racing is the perfect way to combine a massive mountain bike hit with an overseas experience but, until recently, roughing it and complex logistics have held many of us back from what might otherwise be the perfect […]